Sphinks Publisher:Apple Developer: Xtremics Ltd. Platforms:iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone (Reviewed) Release Date: January 12, 2012 Price:$1.99 – Available Here
Overview
As you can tell, the title of the game that is being reviewed in this article is severely misspelled. Products that have names which are misspelled usually can fit into 3 categories: (1) the product is attempting to be “hip” (2) it is trying to cover up a a bad product by having a “unique” name or (3) it is a good product with simply an awful name. Which category does Sphinks fit into? Find out in the following review.
Story
Sphinks is set in the ancient Egyptian time period. As a servant to the god Ra, god of the sun and creator, it is your job to make sure that he is able to perform his duties. However, something has gone horribly wrong. Ra has lost his powers. The Eye, Flair and Ankh that allow him to do tremendous things have disappeared. But, there is a solution. Finding the Ankh will allow Ra to regain his powers. Unfortunately, Ra broke up and hid this artifact so his enemies would not be able to find it. It is your job to retrieve the Ankh and restore Ra’s powers.
All in all, I suppose the story is ok for an iOS puzzle game. Nevertheless, its not very detailed and it lacks any semblance of order. It certainly explains why the game is set in Egypt, but I think it might have been much better if the developers would have skipped the story entirely and set the game wherever they wanted to, without explanation. The plot in puzzle games is often skimped on, and I see no reason why Xtremics should have even bothered with it, especially considering that there is so little depth to the story in Sphinks.
Gameplay
Sphinks reminds me of a slower version of Bejewled. Rather than filling the entire board up with pieces and tasking you match them, Sphinks initially only lays out about 5 different puzzle pieces on the board. It is your job to match 4 pieces together to make them burst into flames and disappear. Of course, after every turn, more and more pieces show up, and to get to the end of the level you must not allow the board to fill up completely. Pieces can be matched up horizontally, diagonally or vertically. After a level or two has been completed, the requirements change. Now, you must match 5 pieces instead of 4 and the game is substantially harder and so on. Timed pieces also make an appearance, and you must match them up before the clock on them runs out, or they will be set in stone. In addition, a gray overlay will appear on some blocks, indicating where and what the next spawn of blocks will be. Later on, special powers up can be activated that make the game easier for a certain amount of time. In addition, a hint system is also active, although it does not always give away the smartest strategies.
There are no time limits, and the game moves fairly slowly. You can’t queue up your moves, and after every move you have to watch the selected block move to its position. Although the animation for that doesn’t take more than a second, those seconds add up to make the game seem a lot longer than it really is. Making matters worse is that if you fail on any one of the 6 levels, the game takes you back to the first chapter, and you must start all over again. While this gives the game a sense of risk and urgency, it also makes it extremely hard to get anywhere. Playing the same level again after you have already beaten it is boring, especially because all the powerups are taken away until you reach your previous level.
Audio and Visuals
As you would expect, the soundtrack to Sphinks sounds like ancient Egypt theme music, with an emphasis on harps and flutes. When puzzle pieces are matched, or when someting special happens, a nice audio byte usually accompanies it. For example, when the pieces disappear, they burst into flames, crackle and sound like burning papyrus. Each location in the game has its own unique sound effects and soundtrack. This definitely helps to break up some of the monotony.
Graphically, the game is fine. The backgrounds are smooth, and the puzzle pieces are detailed. While the animations are slow, they are very polished and quality looking.
Overall
I really wanted to like Sphinks. The graphics were interesting and while the soundtrack was not amazing, it was unique. The ancient setting was unique, the gameplay was different and most of the later levels were hard. The lack of a timer made the game seem more relaxed, although the game was still fairly tough. However, I just couldn’t get past how bored I got when I had to restart, or once I had passed a few levels. New, exciting elements to the gameplay are rarely introduced as the game goes on, and I found myself wanting to play some Bejewled rather than spend anymore time with Sphinks.
Its fitting that its a full moon here in Sydney, oh wait thats werewolves, oh well, as Anuman Interactive have announced as part of their Microids game collection they will be releasing the last instalment of the Dracula Saga for Mac, iPhone and iPad users. This instalment that completes the story is actually the 2nd chapter in the storyline, with the 3rd instalment “Path of the Dragon” being rereleased in 2010 and Resurrection the 1st in the story being released in 2011. In ” The Last Sanctuary” players again take on the role of John Harker, fresh off the campaign of saving his fiance Mina from the clutches of the evil nosfaratu. Returning to London Harker soon realises his adventures are far from over as Dracula has followed hot on his heels with added vigour, hell bent on revenging his defeat on his own turf in Transylvania. Dracula: The Last Sanctuary is available now on AppStore in the Games section and on all major download stores.
Cowboys & Aliens Studios: Fairview Entertainment, K/O Paper Products, Platinum Studios, Imagine Entertainment Distributors: Universal Pictures (US)/ Dreamworks (Int.) Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde Director: Jon Favreau Release: Out Now
Overview
Now, when you hear a movie entitled “Cowboys & Aliens,” you may hear alarm bells ringing in your head. How can a movie featuring cowboys, featured in the western genre, and aliens, which are used in the science fiction genre, actually work? Curiosity got the better of me and I sat down and watched it. Basically, a mix up of the western and sci-fi genres did not work for this movie. The story was very average and quite clichéd, the acting seemed mediocre, but they had to contend with poorly written, one-dimensional characters. The Blu-ray itself looks stunning, save for a few visual hiccups as well as excellent sound. Expect a generous offering of extras as well.
Story
The movie starts off with the lone gunman Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) lying in the middle of the desert with no memory, injured and a strange metal shackle attached to his wrist. Drifters turn up and he decides to kill them, as they were going ton steal his things. He takes their things and rides to the nearest town, which happens to be Absolution. After encountering a few of the townsfolk, he is identified as an outlaw, so he tries to escape. Unfortunately for him, a woman named Ella (Olivia Wilde) knocks him out. Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) asks for Lonergan so that he may be trialled for stealing his gold. It is during this standoff that the aliens enter the story. It seems that the metal shackle on Lonergan’s wrist is a key as it shoot down one of the ships.
Watching through the movie, I could not help noticing how bad the story is. The beginning is the start of all the problems. The no memory device is a cliché as old as time itself and, as you will see, Lonergan is the key to all the events, seeing he has the main character gene. This is a western first – don’t expect any aliens in any prominent roles. In fact they make a minimal appearance, which is very disappointing. Even the acting could have been a little better. Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde are much better than they are in this film. They could have added another two dimensions to the one dimensional characters that were written. Overall, a dull story, combined with mediocre acting, makes this story one to forget… really quickly.
Visuals
In terms of the Blu-ray conversion, I am very impressed. Universal has encoded the movie in 1080p/AVC (2.40:1) and the results are great, especially on a bigger screen. There is some grain that you may notice, but that just adds to the atmosphere and making the visuals stand out. One thing that did get a bit annoying is how black is handled in the indoor scenes. It feels too artificial for my liking in terms of brightness. Compared to the outdoor scenes, I believe that it could have been touched up some more. The sets are not bad, while the action sequences, not the best, aren’t the worst out there. The aliens could have been designed better, but I didn’t mind the design of the CGI ships.
Audio
The sound design of the film has to be the strongest point of the film. The sound is delivered with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, which sounds absolutely beautiful. The soundtrack, conducted by Harry Gregson-Williams (who has worked with Hans Zimmer), creates what the film fails to do, a successful blend of two genres. The western inspired soundtrack mixes well with the electronic music that is meant to represent the sci-fi within the film. The sound is crystal clear, especially with a surround sound system. The people behind the sound design deserve recognition for their work on this film as it achieves excellence in a mediocre film.
Extras
While the movie lacked substance, this Blu-ray doesn’t lack in the extras department. In addition to the theatrical release, an extended uncut version is also included, adding sixteen minutes to the movie. There is also “Igniting the Sky: The Making of Cowboys & Aliens” and “Conversations with Jon Favreau.” “Igniting the Sky: the Making of Cowboys & Aliens” is what the title suggest, the making of the film. I love watching how a film is made and this feature is no exception. “Conversations with Jon Favreau,” however, is hosted by director Jon Favreau . You get to hear the cast and crew on their thoughts with the movie. This is a great watch. Universal also adds U-Control, which acts as a picture-to-picture with either your Blu-ray disk or tablet PC. It is quite a cool feature. Sadly, I don’t own a tablet PC, so I don’t know how it is like there. Add in the fact it also includes a DVD, Digital and an Ultraviolet cloud streaming copy (so, that’s four copies of the movie) and you have a great selection of quality extra features. Too bad it couldn’t translate to the movie itself.
Overall
This perplexes me. I see a great Blu-ray offering, with stunning visuals aided by an excellent transfer, sound design of the highest quality, extras that are worth watching and also trying to innovate. I also see a mediocre movie with clichés upon clichés, one dimensional characters and a story that did not hook me in from the get-go, despite the curiosity of these two genres mixing it up. If you loved the movie in the cinemas, go ahead and buy it. Otherwise, seeing as the core is the movie itself, I would not recommend this title for anyone.
Earlier we brought you some concept art screenshots from Two Tribes upcoming sequel to the smash hit Toki Tori, and now they are back to grace us with some game screenshots and very first teaser trailer. Toki Tori 2 has been in development since mid 2011 and will initially only be available to PC players through Steam services only. Versions of the addictive puzzle platformer will follow shortly after for iOS and WiiU once it is released. It has only been recently in the development of the title that Two Tribes are comfortable showing it off a little to us all. Check out the sweet trailer and tell us what you think of Toki Tori 2 so far.
Overview:
Eggheads, for those who don’t know, is a quiz show aired on the BBC across the UK which pit’s a team of challengers against the Eggheads, a team of hand-picked quiz show experts, most of them having proven themselves adept at trivia through success in other quiz shows like ‘Mastermind’ and ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’. The team of challengers compete for a cash prize through 4 preliminary, one-on-one, three question rounds to decide which members of either team take part in the final round. Whether or not they scoop the jackpot hinges on just three questions in the last round (unless both teams are level and additional sudden death questions are needed to separate the two teams). If the Eggheads win, the prize money rolls over to the next group of contestants.
Now Avanquest Software, with Vacari on development duties, have brought the Eggheads to Nintendo DS, boasting of over 2400 different questions that were apparently set by the Eggheads team themselves. The setup of the game is very similar to the show, though fans of the show will be sure to pick up on where it differs.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is, as you can picture, a fairly standard quiz game setup, making use of the console’s dual screens to display information of the tip and interactive elements on the bottom. For example, your opponent and the current category of question on the top screen, with the scoreboard and mock-up of the studio on the bottom screen; or, when answering questions, the full written question on the top, with the multiple choice answers of the bottom for you to tap (or a keypad to type your answer if it’s a sudden death round, where no answer options are given). You could say the question and answer layout isn’t completely authentic, as the answers are displayed vertically and highlighted in a different colour, and the questions are written not spoken, but only the pickiest of Eggheads viewers would care about, or even notice, this.
The main area in which the Eggheads game differs from the programme is its selection of modes. As well as the traditional battle of general knowledge seen on TV, there is a training mode and a challenge mode. Granted, the training mode just offers some quiz questions to warm up to in order to get into the swing of things – even if it does use the same questions as the main game, making it better preparation than it should be, as questions can come up which you’ll have already seen before in training mode.
Challenge mode, however, is quite literally a different matter. How mental arithmetic sums get you in the mood for answering questions on Geography, Food & Drink, History, Sport, Politics, Science, Arts & Books, Film & Television and Music, I’ll never know, but it seems Eggheads on DS fancies itself as something of a brain training game as well as a quiz game. Ultimately, they’re just 10 short, entirely optional mini-games, so shouldn’t be complained about, but the way in which playing these games unlocks hints and bonuses for the main game tampers with the classic formula. Using these extras doesn’t really seem in the spirit of Eggheads.
Visuals & Audio:
The game carries the official Eggheads them for the menu music. Elsewhere, though, such as when answering questions, it uses some weird piece of music which aims to create tension, but instead has you reaching out for the volume control as it’s on a repetitive loop and difficult to concentrate with it playing. The game even features cut-outs (harshly cut-out cut-outs might I add, as they look a bit pixel-y around the edges) of the seven Eggheads, five of whom are randomly selected each time you play, just as it is done on the actual gameshow.
As dull as the main show is, the game still seems to be missing something when it comes to ambience. Without the Eggheads’ meandering stories which eventually lead to an answer, or a host to fill gaps with inconsequential commentary, it doesn’t feel quite like Eggheads. The physical likenesses go some of the way to lending an Eggheads seal of approval, but competing against a set of algorithms, programmed to get certain questions wrong and others right, takes the fun out of it, and the speech bubbles that replace dialogue are tacky.
Overall:
The Eggheads game on Nintendo DS doesn’t feel an authentic recreation of the show; for a start, challenge mode is totally unrelated, as are the bonuses that come with using this mode. The speech bubbles that go in place of voiceovers create the sense of playing against a machine, although are still probably a better alternative than a limited selection of pre-recorded phrases which may not fit the context and would grow irritating after a short time. Even the questions seem ever so slightly easier than on the show, although this last point isn’t necessarily a bad one as it’s much more fun to be getting answers consistently right instead of only getting a couple correct here and there. Eggheads on Nintendo DS doesn’t have the greatest production values, but the menus are simple and easy to interact with, and most importantly the questions, Eggheads branded or otherwise, should satisfy the type of person who watches the show.
Episode 05 of CC: Anime is now live. Each month, thanks to our good friends at Siren Visual, we will be giving away a prize in a monthly competition held through CC: Anime.
To win, listen to the podcast for the question and once you have an answer email it in along with your name and address to[email protected]. At the end of the month, a winner will be randomly selected from the pool of entries. The winner will then be announced on the next podcast.
This month, we will be giving away a copy of CLANNAD – The Complete Series, thanks to our good friends at Siren Visual. If you have yet to listen to CC: Anime you can do so here.
Listen to the podcast and then send your answer in along with your name and address to [email protected] Good Luck!
Competition only open to Australian and New Zealand residents.
Welcome to another episode of CC: Anime, Capsule Computers Monthly Anime Podcast! In our fifth episode, the CC: Anime crew discuss the latest anime and manga news, take part in the “Anime Anarchy” game show segment, as well discussing the state of the anime industry.
We also have a huge giveaway this month. Do you want a chance to win a copy of CLANNAD– The Complete Seriesfrom Siren Visual? Follow this linkto find out how.
Cast: Luke Halliday, Travis Bruno, Michael ‘Spike’ Marr and Jahanzeb Khan
We hope you enjoy CC: Anime Episode 05, be sure to let us know what you think.
The Devil Inside Studio: Insurge Pictures Publisher: Paramount Pictures Format: Cinema Release Date: March 1, 2012
Overview
I watched my first exorcist movie, The Exorcist, at the tender age of 13. Instead of nightmares, it made me laugh and brag about how awesome it was and how much I loved it. That was the beginning, over the years it has been followed by many other movies, each following that standard formula of a terribly possessed woman (are men immune? Does the devil just not care all that much about them?), a priest and his mini priest who isn’t quite as skilled or experienced, and as for the ending – it can go either way, but usually God triumphs.
I don’t go in expecting a deviation from the norm, heck that’d be setting myself up for failure in the case of 90% of movies, but the journey’s always fun. With The Devil Inside, however, I found that the standard formula wasn’t going to cut it.
Story
The main thing that really sets it apart can be summed up in a question one of my friends asked during the move- ‘Is this a documentary?’. The first half of the movie is made to look impeccably like a documentary. There are no shots that aren’t made by cameras that aren’t bring carried by one of the main characters or haven’t been set up by him. If it wasn’t for this then the beginning of the movie might have been painfully slow, but instead it gave us a better look at the main character and her background without being too contrived. I don’t think it could have been done much better, while giving that much detail. This kind of explanation just doesn’t come organically.
Stylistically it looks excellent, as I said, it tricks you (even if just for a second), into thinking – ‘Wait, should I Google this? Is this actually a documentary?’ Once the movie really gets going though, that sort of disappears and the documentary style has more purpose in terms of suspense, and building tension.
Another positive aspect of the documentary style is the acting. In a documentary the main focus person is always pretty vulnerable, I mean they are baring their life to the scrutiny of a camera and an audience. Fernanda Andrade plays this vulnerability perfectly, she’s part of the reason that the documentary style works so well, if she had played it any less believably the whole thing would have crumbled.
I won’t get too much into the story, but basically her mother has spent the last 20 years in an asylum for the criminally insane for doing some very naughty things and being totally cuckoo, and now she want some answers about the quite shady things surrounding her mother’s outburst that involved two priests and a nun (ooh, sounds familiar?), and also her mother’s transferral to Rome. I don’t really know how based in logic that one is, is the proximity to the Vatican meant to help or something? Anyway, she makes the trip to Rome and the movie follows her attempt to find answers.
There is a strong nod towards science and medicine, and how the increase in this knowledge affects exorcism as a practice and belief. Given the somewhat non-scientific basis of the movie it was nice to be given a more balanced view. And in fact during the movie one character listing off all the reasons for possessed behaviour as related to mental disorder symptoms.
Like I mentioned previously, the plot doesn’t go stock standard, and does take a few twists here and there that keep it fresh and made me appreciate it a little bit more. The biggest let down, however, is the ending. It feels like the movie ends 10 minutes early, when the final credits appear I was just left with this unresolved little ball of suspense sitting in my stomach and I had no idea what to do with it.
However, even if it does feel like they accidentally cut out the last ten minutes (or even last 2 minutes, seriously, just a short scene would have been nice, even if just to finish it off on a still unfinished, but more closure-y way), I wasn’t left being angry like I usually am if the ending is stupid. At least it was pretty plainly meant to be unfinished in a big way, unlike some films that wave it around in front of your face like ‘Come up with your OWN ending suckers!’. Following in the documentary style, it ends abruptly, and kinda where it would if you think about it. But just because I’m all Zen about it doesn’t mean you’ll feel the same way, so take heed and expect to not be given that lovely little resolution at the end of the movie.
Visuals
The movie is filmed in an obviously ‘documentary’ style, and it works really, really well. The tension in some scenes is just fantastic, and that can once again be attributed to the acting and directing of the movie. Considering they didn’t rely on a soundtrack to get the audience really hyped up, they definitely succeeded in using other visual means, and pacing, to build the suspense. And hey, there are only two scenes where you’re in darkness with only one light to see everything with, which is a big horror staple.
Audio
There’s no real soundtrack, which means that there is nowhere really to hide in terms of the music. There are occasional sound effect accents to accompany some moments, but the movie does not rely on them at all.
Overall
All up, I enjoyed the film. I respected the way it was directed, applaud the acting, and think that it was that lovely little sense of something different that you don’t get to see a whole lot of from mainstream movies. But if you like your resolutions at the end of movies, then maybe look elsewhere.
We have a quite a few codes to give away for the Final FreewayR2 & DOOMSDAY III on iOS courtesy of Oyatsukai & General Arcade. To win simply leave a comment on MasterAbbott’s iOS Suggestions #10 and we’ll pick a few lucky winners – Please let us know in your comments which game you would like to win, Final Freeway R2 or DOOMSDAY III. (Click link below to leave a comment)
We’ll pick the lucky winners once we have a few entries. Make sure you leave a valid email when you post your comment so we can send you your code via email if you win.
Overview
Nearly 8 years ago, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was released to the masses and became an instant classic as it refined everything we know about Kojima’s landmark franchise. This tale actually serves as a prequel, where players take control of Naked Snake and must sneak their way through a jungle and several other locales, performing stealth missions in order to track down a super-weapon. Metal Gear is certainly no stranger to portables, as Snake seen some success on the PSP during the past few years, but this time around things are quite different to say the least. Remaking this classic on the 3DS instantly means that we would be in for practically a whole new experience, but goes this gimmickry get in the way of the gameplay? Here is my review for Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D for the Nintendo 3DS.
Story
Instead of the high tech world seen in several other Metal Gear titles, Snake Eater takes to the jungle for it’s narrative, with Naked Snake leading a well developed cast of characters. Most of you know how this story goes, but I would imagine there are still a few 3DS owners out there who are new to Metal Gear and the many twists and turns of the plot bundled within each package. In a 1960’s setting, Naked snake is put out in the wilderness, having to live off the land while he tracks down a scientist who is crafting a nuclear tank known as the Shagohod.
As to be expected, Snake Eater 3D has a good number of Codec sequences that give a sense of urgency to each mission, and the lengthy yet enjoyable cutscenes can make the entire game feel as if the player is bound in a big-budget war flick, providing both humor and thrills as players progress further. Much like other titles in the series, enemy Cobra also paint a vivid picture of Snake’s current surroundings and listening to their conversations while hidden is an optional yet almost required task if you want to witness some of the most clever dialogue found in the game.
The only flaw to think of with the story though is the same flaw that holds the rest of the game back from being perfect though, and that is that this is Snake Eater on a platform with 3 hours of battery life. I can’t imagine too many will be that upset with this, as in my opinion having a console experience on a portable is still an accomplishment, but there were times I craved a more streamlined approach as this title begs for long periods of play and is hard to put down, and that isn’t exactly an area that handhelds shine in.
Gameplay
While the story is top-notch and still comes off as impressive after all these years, the gameplay within Snake Eater 3D is more of a mixed bag. Players must control Snake using the slide-pad, and for the most part, this particular function works fine. Whether it be running from a group of enemies that just discovered your location or laying prone and sneaking up on an enemy, the 3DS’ answer to analog never fails to deliver when it comes to getting our hero from one location to another. Getting the camera to participate in all of the action however is where things start rolling downhill.
Unless you have the control pad pro, you should expect to be fighting the greatest enemy of Metal Gear in the form of the camera controls. Players are forced to use the face buttons to get the camera to follow behind snake, which is about as awkward and frustrating as it sounds. For example, there was one moment where I was sneaking up on a Cobra goon, ready to make the kill. As I got closer, another soldier stepped in and gave away my location, leading to several enemies coming at my character in all directions. Having to tap X and B to get the camera to move from one direction to another ultimately lead to my demise, as quick movement feels almost impossible when the camera doesn’t want to focus on the correct perspective fast enough. Over time, I got used to using the buttons to control my view, but I can’t stress enough how mandatory an extra stick actually is.
Snake also has to crawl through all types of terrain, and for some reason you are expected to use all action commands with the D-Pad. This would have worked, but the D-Pad is located right underneath the control stick and unless you were born with two hands on your left arm, you will probably be coming to a complete stop each time an action command is needed due to the poor placement. If you have the CPP, these commands are mapped to the now vacated face buttons, which makes the process a lot smoother and 100% less troublesome. This all may sound negative, but as I mentioned, learning how to utilize Snake Eater 3D’s single pad support is doable and while there are still several hiccups, everything still plays as it should…if you take a slower approach throughout the entire game.
One fantastic feature of Snake Eater 3D is the newly found HUD, now located on the bottom screen. While it isn’t much, this new location keeps the action all at the top and rids distractions from plaguing gameplay. Aiming also works well for the most part, as the player has the choice to manually scope out their prey (with the shoulder buttons) or to throw things into automatic and have their gun find the nearest target. I usually prefer manual for most titles, but the auto-aim here works well and is a better fit overall for Snake considering the camera controls. Sneaking up on an unsuspecting foe is still as intense of a scenario as it ever was, and auto-aim certainly didn’t detract those feelings of doom and uncertainty. Gyroscopic controls have also been added in for small sessions, which include the likes of playing a balancing mini-game while crossing a narrow pathway. Yes, this works, but can take the player out of the game as they are forces to tilt their handheld back and forth.
Where Snake Eater 3D truly shines the brightest is the core stealthy mechanics that the franchise is known for. The player must spend time to make sure Snake blends into his surroundings. Finding different types of camouflage is a necessity, and a new gimmick using the 3DS’ camera provides a whole new spin on this already well-oiled machine. Players can now take pictures of their own world (using the outer camera) and use those textures as camouflage in order to stay hidden. There still is plenty of default options and never is the camera gimmickry required, but I found it to be one subtly placed feature that not only worked well, but made the game feel a bit refreshing compared to the other remakes we have seen on the platform.
Even with all of my gripes with this version’s camera mishaps, I still admire the fact that this title is paced to perfection and allows the player to go at their own speed. If you want to hunt down animals and stop your hunger before heading into danger, you have the full option to and climbing up trees just to hop down on an unsuspecting foe still is as exciting as ever. Boss battles are still clever and engaging as well, always ready to throw new mechanics into the mix to keep the combat from getting dull. In other words, this is still Metal Gear, and in many ways, it’s still a legendary title, flaws or not.
Visuals/Audio
Even though Konami didn’t give Metal Gear Solid 3 the facelift it seen in the recently released HD collection in this incarnation, the visuals still stand the test of time and look fantastic on the 3DS. The 3D is used to perfection, letting blades of grass brush up against the screen as Snake is getting stealthy and enhancing each and every cutscene with graphics that now appear to be crisper and easier on the eye, so to speak. Yes, it’s not quite the beauty of Resident Evil Revelations, but considering this port’s true age, the changes present are very clear and that solid presentation value remains in-tact during some the most chaotic animation sequences within the game.
As far as sound quality goes, not much has changed at all since this classic was birthed on the Playstation 2. Again, considering that this is Snake Eater on a portable, that is certainly a good thing. The cast of voice actors did a fantastic job in capturing their characters, and each cutscene or Codec sequence benefits greatly from their performances. Many of the Metal Gear made famous sound effects still resonate here as well, with that classic high note blaring out when Snake’s cover gets blown. That is all gravy in comparison to the soundtrack though, as from the main theme to the intense tunes that blare out while you are in a boss battle, the many scores within effortlessly stand the test of time and truly bring out the AAA title status that Snake Eater rightfully earned years ago.
Overall
Since the 3DS launched, we have seen countless remakes and re-imaginings of some all time greats. Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D certainly attempts to stand strong with the lot, as it brings about some clever uses for the 3DS and feels almost like a brand new product due to it’s new control scheme. Sadly though, Snake misses his mark due to a wonky camera and somewhat clunky design choices, which makes the entire game more of a pass to those who have already played the game years ago or more recently picked up the HD version. All of that aside, those who own the platform and have yet to experience Metal Gear Solid 3 should consider picking this one up, as even with it’s flaws, it still represents one of the best games of all time and is still worthy of ownership by all portable fanatics….as long as you have that extra stick to play it in it’s purest form.
